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Altered States

Travelling between the world, underworld-material world- spirit world, shamans, universal human unconscious, hypnosis, humanity, sanskara, shiva brahman vishnu, ralph waldo emerson, Transcendentalism ...

There is no great and no small

To the Soul that maketh all:

And where it cometh, all things are;

And it cometh everywhere.

I am owner of the sphere,

Of the seven stars and the solar year,

Of Caesar's hand, and Plato's brain,

Of Lord Christ's heart, and Shakspeare's strain. RWE

The idea of a between-life state also features in other religious beliefs and practices. Tibetan Buddhists believe that when we die we must go through what they call the Bardo state. This is seen as a journey taken by the consciousness at the time of physical death. At that moment it is said that a clear light will appear and if you recognize this light, you will become enlightened. Unfortunately, not many of us do so. However, there are other chances with another five coloured lights that follow. The rule of thumb is to go to the brightest one you see, as the paler, softer lights can lead you in a backwards direction. Your consciousness will move through seven stages of the Bardo during a period of 49 days. During this time, your consciousness will come face to face with many demons, which are projections of your own mind. You must try to accept them rather than run away in fear, in order to reach the brightest light that you can. Whatever state you have reached at the end of 49 days will determine your conscious state at the beginning of your new life.

Walking Stones

Christianity Buddhism and Hinduism

I spoke to a Christian street preacher this morning after listening to him talk for about 30/40 minutes. He came over and mentioned that I had been listening intently for a long time, really I had been watching all the people in the street and how they reacted to him. The only people who took leaflets were old or pregnant. I was quite aware that he seemed to be trying to scare people about being sinners and hell. I dont think he was a bad person, he genuinely believed what he was saying but I just couldnt get my head round to his way of thinking.

I went to the Buddhist Centre just to see what it was like really. Not as friendly as I had expected. An old woman showed me round but when I asked her about Buddhism she couldnt really answer my questions. I filled out a little form requesting to meet the manager of the centre which was all very formal. I think ill try to find some more homely Buddhists.

I spoke to a Hindu priest briefly on the phone but I had pretty much no idea what he was saying so I just tried my best to get off the phone. I think I will try to go and see him anyway, I might need someone to come with me though... could be an akward situation.

Ouroboros

I just found out about this myth that has roots in loads of different cultures- Egyption, Norse, Hindu etc and it seems to say what I mean, and say it much better than I seem to be able to, heres the link;

Clockwork

I went to Kelvingrove to see the Orrey by John Fulton this afternoon. I could probably just look at it all day, I wish I could see it in action.

Are You Being Followed?

I haven't been so good at posting here in the last week or so but ideas are beginning to become a bit more concrete so I thought I would upload some pictures from friday. I asked Lorraine and Amy to follow me around Glasgow taking pictures of me following a random stranger. I felt a bit creepy doing it and it made me kind of look over my shoulder a lot. I also found out about an artist called Sophie Calle who does this sort of thing to the extreme- she followed a guy she met at a party to Vienna from Paris. Anyway, the pictures are on my flickr.

Lunchtime Club

Dennis the janny told us about a lunchtime club that some Sweedish students had a few years ago. Apparently they had lunch in different parts of the building and all brought different food and wine with them. He had loads of stories like this about how the school has changed in the time he has been working there. He said everything is much more controlled and subdued, much more "by the book". He actually complained that students aren't radical enough (I thought he would say the opposite) and the students union has no heart. I wonder is this is true or do you just get like that after being in a job for 20 years? Undecided. He also said that the school is "like Big Brother Now" which got me thinking.

Researching

Spent the day researching in the Mac and the library today. Came up with quite a few ideas but none of them seem to connect or even be in a similar thread. I was thinking about Christo and wrapping things. I remember someone telling me about an artist who used a big piece of paper that he fitted to the floors of rooms. He folded it or added bits on to make it fit in each different place he performed the work. No idea what his name was though... Also thinking about maps today. I photocopied plans of the Mac and it reminded me of the maps that Hayley Newman made in Milton Keynes. Also found an interesting map of the London Underground by David Shrigley...

First Day - First Post

Today was the longest day ever. After the briefing we had a 2hr lunchbreak then a workshop with Rachel Mimiec and Claire Barclay which was pretty good. Our task was to research the Mac by looking, drawing, collecting, photographing etc. I drew the window latches, the "IN" and "OUT" signs, the staircase and did some rubbings. I also sat in the foyer and wrote down whatever I could hear as fast as I could. It turned into complete chaos but I think it could be the starting point for something more interesting.